The Evolution of Eating Together

Eating together with people has always been the base of social gatherings, of making connections, getting to know people, spending time with people… basically, it never, ever goes out of fashion! Eating together has been considered as a social activity from almost an indefinite time and can be traced back and observed in the major civilizations that built the world we live in today. Food acts as an important part of social parties, dates, weddings, gatherings amongst others; eating together at family gatherings, or at homes with all the members has always acted as a way to bond with people, solve day-to-day conflicts and lead to discussions, happiness and satisfaction.

With the onset of the COVID-19 novel virus, due to which things had changed drastically in a very short duration of time, leading to lockdowns and social distancing, the act of eating together is amongst the many aspects in life that felt a major blow. Restaurant chains, food vans, street food places, bars and clubs etc. had been shut down or only delivering food. The concept of video calling and online meetings became an output for “meeting” people from everyone’s own homes. Events like weddings, wakes, birthday parties, conferences and many other social gatherings started taking place on social media and platforms that provided with video calls like Google Meet, Zoom, Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook etc. The act of eating together persisted there as well as people enjoyed eating foods in the comfort of their own homes, but also with loved ones! Dating applications like Bumble also encouraged on having dates on video call when the lockdowns were ongoing and also as they gradually were lifted.

Eating and/or cooking with people, exploring various food trends, travelling to various locations to try different foods have been some of the few ways in which eating together has acted as means to connect with people. Even though it may have seemed like the world came to a standstill for the majority of the year 2020, the act of eating together is gradually getting its essence back. With people being self-aware about the intensity of the virus and hence, use masks and properly sanitize themselves as well as the corporative measures taken by restaurant food chains by maintaining hygiene in places to eat and attempting to guide people to maintain social distancing, people have gradually stated eating out or at gatherings in the enclosed spaces of homes again.

The pandemic had a severe impact on eating together since socializing has always revolved around this said practice. While it is still is not clear what could be the risks involving to get in contact with the virus by eating together, the precautionary measures should always be maintained regardless, be it outdoor social gatherings or indoor. Keeping hands clean, using face masks, using clean cutlery and utensils to eat, and social distancing are some of the measures that one needs to constantly and cautiously take. One needs to remember to stay safe in times where the pandemic is still not entirely over, so the choice of restaurant or eating spaces with the people should be cautious, and also to remind oneself and others to maintain hygiene as much as possible.